Frosty is comming!!

W

WackyWRZ

Registered
Hey guys, got a good question for ya. Here in NE ya never know WHAT the weather is gonna be like, but I aint taking any chances. I want to put some new skins on the car before the snow hits. My dillemma is this, do I get 4 new All-Seasons or do I get 2 snows to slap on the back. I know I have good tread Michelins on it now (not sure of the series), and they are TERRIBLE in the rain (even with TC), and I don't plan on testing the snow. I can say I plan on getting 18"-20" rims next spring/summer, so I don't want to buy the most expensive tires on the market. So what do you guys reccomend? The streets are usually cleared within a day or two after the snow. Also, someone told me to put 4 snow tires on it to help steering traction, but that sounds a little strange to me.

TIA for any and all help!!
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Also, someone told me to put 4 snow tires on it to help steering traction, but that sounds a little strange to me.
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A set of four decent snow tires will outperform just two on the rear axle. The biggest reason is four wheel ABS. Remember it takes traction to stop as well as traction to go. It will also help steering in the slippery stuff.

As for All-Season tires, IMHO not worth it if you really expect any driving in inclement winter weather. A good snow tire will have a different rubber compound than All-Season tires which invariably trade off traction for mileage.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

I toasted a nice set of All-Season Michelins trying to run them last winter. This year I bought a spare set of wheels and went to Tire Warehouse and got a pair of Blizzaks for the rear. Be ready for some really wierd performance. They are slippery on dry pavement (I down shifted hard 3-1 and i broke loose going around a corner, my car is all stock), they are alittle beter on wet pavement and im hoping that they are amazing on the snow. I am going to get a pair for the front to, as just having the rears is messing up the geometry (or something like that..) and the car handles really funky.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Blizzaks are a night and day difference, I haven't had any on my mark but I had some on my old eclipse gsx and my old galant. Helped greatly, i'm in minnesota in case you're curious. The eclipse would wiggle the back end going down the icy freeway with "normal" tires Dunlop D60A2's but with the blizzaks and about 140 pounds of sand that didn't happen any more. I'm dreading the winter performance of my mark, this will be my first winter with it, and I'm a cheap bastard so I was going to avoid buying new tires for now. I may have to though.
 
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Isn't that GSX an AWD too? Ya, I dread buying tires too, especially living in NE. I hate to buy some $100/each Blizzaks and not get much snow, and ruin them driving around on dry pavement, as I only have 1 set of rims. I also hope the salt don't eat the chrome off my directionals!
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

You won't ruin them driving on dry pavement if it's cold enough. Just make sure you switch them out before it gets too warm in the spring.

If you expect to get rims in the spring, there's no point in getting anything BUT snow tires all around. You can just leave them on the stock rims and put them back on every winter. Get 4 good snow tires and call it a day.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

now John do you have four snow tires on your mark VIII?
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What?! I wouldn't put snow tires on my Mark VIII! Not with chrome 10 spokes and all.

No way. That's what the Mark VII is for! But I can tell you I'm not buying $100 Blizzaks for it either! But I will buy four snow tires, and a couple hundred pounds of 4-way chips for ballast in the trunk.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Ok, then am I better off buying tires from someplace local, or buying some from say tirerack.com? And would I be better off getting some 235s or 245s instead of the stockers?
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

as far as snow tires go I would stay with the 225, it allows more of the cars weight to cuase traction. Since there is less surface area on a narrow tire, the weight distributed over the smaller surface get you more 'pressure' which results in more traction. I also add 4 70lb bags of tube sand in the trunk to up the weight even more.

Go ahead and get them someplace local. They are usually cheaper (remember shipping costs!) and can persuaded into mounting and balancing them for free if you dont make them take your old tires. Most of the places (at least around here) have a 'house brand' tire. They are usually really, really good in the snow, no so good on dry pavement and around $60 each. These will treat you right as long as they are 'Q' rated. Personally I went with 'H' rated, as that is what Lincoln recomends.
 
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heck John use the ol BIG FORD 4x4 for the slick stuff and keep the lincoln away from salt and deer
 
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I put on Michelin XGT V4's last winter and added 160 pounds of salt in the trunk. I live in Toronto and we had a lot of snow last year. The car handled pretty good and I never got stuck and they are a good all season tire. I had wanted to try a Dunlop but they did not have any stock in Ontario last year when I was buying.

When there is a few inches of snow I start out in 2nd with the TC off and this helps get me started without spinning the wheels.

The original tires that came on the car, and that are recommended by Ford, are "V" rated tires. There have been previous discussions about using a lower rated tire such as an "H". To each his own, but tires are one thing that I won't scrimp on by buying a non recommended product.
 
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Seems like deja vu all over again.

1) Removed the 10 spoke chromes,cleaned and tucked them away for spring
2) Put on the winter shoes from last year (qty 4).
3) Extra weight for the trunk will be ready when I need it (tube sand)
4) Winter wiper blades on hand for the first storm
5) Appointment made for annual undercoating treatment (Krown)

Oh ya... Try not to drive the Mark at all unless absolutely necessary. That's what the Bronco II is for! No salt on the road yet, so we're good to go...

Note: Winter shoes are Michelin Arctic Alpins mounted on vanilla 5 spoke 6" wide Taurus rims. Rims I purchased used. Took 15 minutes to change wheels/tires myself... Adjust tire pressure. End.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Last winter I bought an extra set of wheels and Dunlop Winter tires. I also went to Home Depot and bought four 60# tubes of sand and put them in the trunk.

Prior to doing this my car was just about un-driveable in snow. I could not get my Mark up my driveway and into my garage. Everywhere I went I had to go in my wifes Subaru Outback. After the new tires and the sand in the trunk, my car gets up my driveway like a champ. I never would have thought the car could get up the drive like it does.

These winter tires are also quieter on the road than my Firestone summer tires also.

http://members.tccoa.com/lastmrk/Images/lastmrk2.jpg
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

I am presently researching winter tires and after speaking with various tire shops and then searching the web, found the following info on Tirerack.com

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/faqs.html#y4

The new winter new tire preformance is based on rubber compond/temperature characteristics more so than just tread pattern and are recommended where the temp. drops below 7 C. or about 42 F.

What ever you do..DO NOT... use only 2 winter tires, you will have different traction characteristics on the front and back wheels and will be going sideways most of the winter.

Think of it this way.. If you only have 2 winter tires which would you want to be able to do:
get Traction to the rear wheels, or Steer with the front wheels?
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

well, if you look at it in that light, you need to be moving to even have a chance to steer, so im going to go with the rears!

j/k I know what you are getting at and I have experience first hand what just two snowtires is like.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Seems as though you've made up you mind, despite some sage advice from the other members. I really hope that you don't regret the decision to go with winter rear tires only. A reputable tire vendor will also discourage this approach - with good reason (not financial).

There are many sound reasons not to do it, and no logical reasons to do it, other than saving some money. I respect that tires aren't cheap. Neither are accidents. You'll have a much better control of your vehicle with four-way snows than two. I'm definitely speaking from experience through two Mark VIII's (and numerous other cars as well).

Maybe if you think of it from this perspective. There is very little risk of you having an accident with the car parked. If someone or something hits you, it's their fault case closed. However, assuming you are moving and moving quickly, your vehicle's chances of avoidance and/or braking are significantly improved - dramatically improved actually, with winter tires. At highway speeds, steering/control and braking is more important than acceleration. The greater your margin of safety, the better.

One last thought. There are more accidents at residential intersections in the winter than at any other time of the year. They typically happen when someone slides through an intersection. Why? Not because they couldn't get going, but because they couldn't steer and/or stop. I think everyone recognises that when you are stopping and steering, the front's do more than the rears. Steering and braking - think front tires. They're just as important as rear traction when driving off.

Best of luck, and drive carefully.

Regards.
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!


kev415 wrote:
I toasted a nice set of All-Season Michelins trying to run them last winter. This year I bought a spare set of wheels and went to Tire Warehouse and got a pair of Blizzaks for the rear. Be ready for some really wierd performance. They are slippery on dry pavement (I down shifted hard 3-1 and i broke loose going around a corner, my car is all stock), they are alittle beter on wet pavement and im hoping that they are amazing on the snow. I am going to get a pair for the front to, as just having the rears is messing up the geometry (or something like that..) and the car handles really funky.
[/quote]

I now have all four tires....
 
RE: Frosty is comming!!

Last winter I drove my 1995 Windstar with 2 new all season Michelins on the front and year old Michelins on the rear (same tire/size).

At 60 miles an hour on the what appeared to be a dry highway,
I hit packed snow as the wind/suction from a truck passing 6 inches to my left caught the back of my van and I went into a sideways slide.

With traction on the front wheels much greater than on the back, it was only the guardrail that stopped me from going off the road.

I am an experienced driver with over 1,000,000 kms driven and it was all I could do to keep the van on the road. It was 5 seconds that changed my thoughts toward all season tires and winter roads.

I will never again risk my life to save a dew bucks.
 
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